8 shot and killed at 3 massage parlors in Georgia; one suspect in custody

WOODSTOCK, Ga. - Shootings at two massage parlors in Atlanta and one in the suburbs left eight people dead, many of them women of Asian descent, authorities said Tuesday. A 21-year-old man was taken into custody in southwest Georgia hours later after a manhunt.

Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said three people were killed at a spa in northeast Atlanta, while a fourth person was killed at another spa across the street. He said all four victims were female, and "It appears that they may be Asian."

Atlanta police officers responding to a call of a robbery in progress at one spa around 5:50 p.m. found three women dead from apparent gunshot wounds, police said.

Deputies say Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock opened fire inside a business off GA-92, killing at least 3 people on March 16, 2021. (Cherokee County Sheriff's Office)

While they were at that scene, they learned of a call reporting shots fired at another spa across the street and found a woman who appeared to have been shot dead inside the business.

Earlier, around 5 p.m., five people were shot at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor in Acworth, about 30 miles north of Atlanta, Cherokee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker said.

READ MORE: Police say 4 women killed in 2 spa shootings on Piedmont Road in Atlanta

Two of the victims were dead and three were transported to a hospital where two of them also died, Baker said.

Authorities were not immediately releasing the gender or race of the victims, Baker said.

A man suspected in the Acworth shooting was captured by surveillance video pulling up to the business around 4:50 p.m. Tuesday, minutes before the shooting, authorities said.

Baker said the suspect, Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, was taken into custody in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta.

READ MORE: Man accused of killing 4, injuring 1 at Cherokee County massage parlor in custody, deputies say

Baker said they believe Long is also the suspect in the Atlanta shootings.

With two shootings at massage parlors in Atlanta and the knowledge of the Acworth shooting, Atlanta police said they dispatched officers to check nearby similar businesses and increased patrols in the area.